Crutch



Patented Mar. 2, 1943 UNITED STATES E G FFIC CRUTCH James F. Wilson, Des Moines, Iowa, assignor of forty-nine per cent to Walter E. Baker, Des

Moines, Iowa My invention relates to the art of crutches, particularly the class having cushioning springs.

The object of my invention is to provide a crutch of this class of simple, durable and inexpensive construction.

A further object is to provide a crutch which.

may be readily, quickly and easily adjusted as to the weight and height of the user, and the length of the user's arm.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the complete crutch;

Figure 2 shows an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the upper portion of the crutch;

Figure 3 shows a side view, partly in section, of the lower end portion of the crutch;

Figure 4 shows a detail sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 shows a detail sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

The body of the crutch is formed of a metal tube In of uniform diameter. At about the central portion of the tube I0 is a metal socket ll, open at its top and riveted in position. The top of the tube is interiorly screw threaded at l2, and a tubular nut I3 is inserted therein.

This nut has a hexagonal head l4 resting upon the top of the tube. At its lower end the tube I0 is screw threaded on its exterior and an extension body portion [5 is provided with an internal screw thread to receive the lower end of the tube I ll. At the lower end of the part I 5 is a rubber tip I6.

The upper portion of the crutch is also formed of a metal tube ll slidingly fitted into the nut 13 and the socket ll. At its top is a metal arm rest I 8, and below the nut iii a collar [9 is riveted to the tube l1 and is slidingly mounted in the upper end of the tube III. A rubber tip Fla is fixed to its lower end.

An extensile coil spring 20' is inserted between the tubes Ill and I! and engages the socket I l and the collar IS.

The crutch handle 2| is formed with a collar 22 surrounding the tube l0 and is secured to the tube In by a screw 23. A series of openings 24 is formed in the tube It! through which the screw 23 may be extended and whereby the handle may be positioned at any desirable distance from the arm rest.

In practice, I have demonstrated that the entire crutch with the exception of the extension 15 and the spring 20 may be made of the same size and length for users of various heights and weights. If the weight of the user is relatively heavy, a stiff spring is used, and the length of the crutch may easily be changed by adding an extension member of the proper length. Also, the position of the handle may be readily and easily adjusted.

To remove and replace a spring it is only necessary to unscrew the nut l3, then the tube I! can be removed and a spring of different resiliency may be inserted and the nut replaced.

A merchant selling my crutch need have on hand only a limited number of crutches and a larger number of springs of various degrees of resiliency and a larger number of extension tubes. When supplying a crutch for a customer the crutch may be easily and quickly adapted to the weight, height and arm length of the customer by inserting a proper spring and extension tube, and adjusting the handle.

I claim as my invention: 7

1. In a crutch. the combination of a tubular metal body portion interiorly screw threaded at its upper end, a tubular nut inserted in said screw-threaded portion, a socket open at its upper end fixed to the interior of the tube, an upper crutch member of smaller diameter than the body portion extended through the nut and into the socket and having a collar fixed thereto to engage the nut, and an extensible coil spring surrounding the upper crutch member and engaging said socket and said collar.

2. In a crutch, the combination of a tubular metal body portion interiorly screw threaded at its upper end, a tubular nut inserted in said screw-threaded portion, a socket open at its upper end fixed to the interior of the tube, an upper crutch member of smaller diameter than the body portion extended through the nut and into the socket and having a collar fixed thereto to engage the nut, an extensible coil spring surrounding the upper crutch member and engaging said socket and said collar, and an elastic cushioning tip fixed to the lower end of the upper crutch member and engaging the bottom of the socket when the spring is fully compressed.

3. In a crutch, the combination of a tubular metal body having an interiorly screw-threaded portion, a tubular nut inserted in said screw threaded portion,a tubular socket fixed in positionwithin the body portion and having its open end extended toward said nut. a crutch member of smaller-diameter than said body portion extended through said tubular nut and into said socket and having a collar fixed thereto to be engaged by said nut, an extensile coil spring surrounding said smaller crutch member and engaging the open end of the socket and said collar.

JAMES F. WILSON. 

